maxspr1

What sound like pretty finished studio recordings of Pittsburgh and Soldier Child were released on Starship Casual early on. I don’t think they’re the final versions (I seem to remember the accompanying notes from Jeff stated this), but I know at least Soldier Child has Glenn on it. I liked them both and think they’re two of the highlights of Starship Casual to date.

On 9/26/2022 at 2:13 AM, Yaz Rock said:

Thanks for the early reviews. Is the 8-CD set comprehensive, or do the vinyl and download releases have versions that are not included on the CD set? Thanks.

The 8 CD set has all 102 tracks plus the rather extensive book/liner notes. It’s all housed in a vinyl LP sized box, in case anyone was wondering.

For everyone passing on this box or considering not getting it because they already have the YHF Demos/Engineer Demos tracks: there is so much stuff not released on those sets in this collection that I'm amazed. I'd be curious to see a comparison of the box to those demo sets to see just how much overlap there is, but it's definitely not as much as I was expecting.

I have one more disc to go from the 8 CD set, but so far two standouts that I hadn't heard anywhere else are the Not For The Season (Laminated Cat) from Disc 2 (starts slow and sluggish but it's a good one) and the Ashes of American Flags from disc 3 (has kind of a sinister feel by the end compared to the album version). LOTS of other great stuff throughout.

I was definitely able to purchase both songs from Amazon. The problem is I can't remember precisely what I did in the middle step, but basically, here's how I did it: I signed up for the Amazon Music service, then selected each of the songs and added them to a list or liked them or something like that--that's the part I can't remember. Then when I went to my playlist with just those two songs and played them, there was a little three-dot button thingy next to each song. When that three-dot button was selected, it gave me the option to purchase each one. Once that was done and the songs had downloaded to my computer, I cancelled the service. The songs are still on my computer and on my phone and playable. Again, I can't remember exactly what to do, but now that I've cancelled the service, I can't retrace my steps. I did all of the above on the first day the songs were released, so I'm not sure if this is all still possible but I don't see why it would have changed. My advice would be sign up, play around with each song and maybe what to do will become clear. Sorry I can't be more help, but mostly I just wanted to let you all know that you can definitely purchase these if you dig around enough.

I love three of the demo (or 1st draft, as he labels them) songs quite a bit: In A Sad Kinda Way, Ambulance (both heard live on the Tweedy Show) and especially Stray Cats In Spain. Pittsburgh, a more finished track with Jeff and Spencer, is also very good and the solo acoustic version of Pieholden Suite sounds like an outtake from Together At Last--enjoyed both of those, too. As a huge Teenage Fanclub fan, the cover of Everything Flows posted today was also pretty darn cool! All in all, I'm into this material because it's great to hear new material by an artist I like and I love raw demos and home recordings for their directness and urgency. Listening to all the songs in one sitting reminds me of the Guided By Voices Suitcase box sets or even Alien Lanes and Bee Thousand by GBV as far as sound quality and intimacy goes: a bit lofi, but fascinating and diverse. Hope that all of that makes sense.

Jesus...why are so many people opposed to a band or musician trying to sell stuff, but especially about them putting a price on their music? The Wilco online store has everything from bobblehead toys to pencils, socks and even wine bottle cozies. The merch tables at shows are full of stuff for sale. It's what musicians do to try to make money these days, seeing as physical music sales are really down, Spotify pays virtually nothing, touring has been off limits for almost 2 years (and probably will be again soon), and to paraphrase someone here, people expect music online to be free (?!). Everyone is welcome to do whatever they want with their money, but if you like a band or singer, at the very least you shouldn't be opposed to paying for the music. It's what everyone had to do when the only way to release music was via major labels on vinyl or CD. I also get that most people would like to have a physical copy of the music. I prefer CDs to other formats myself (I own a more or less permanent durable copy of the music which I can play at home on many devices, but I can also easily transfer the tracks onto portable devices for listening in the car or while doing things outside or at the gym). But like it or not, selling music digitally is a legitimate thing now (has been for quite a while at this point) and a way for musicians to release work and make money when they can't necessarily afford to have records or CDs pressed. Personally, I'm all about the music. I have plenty of T-shirts and other bits of merch and memorabilia from bands I like, but I really want the songs. If they're available on CD, perfect; vinyl, okay; digital, fine by me--whatever it takes for me to be able to get a copy of the song, and I have no problem paying. If every band I'm into started $50-60 yearly subscription services where I would receive 7 or 8 rarities/demos/previously unheard tracks from each of them a month, I'd consider that a good thing! As I'm not going out to restaurants or concerts or movie theaters these days, I can afford to spend a little more on music right now--and that would be so much new music! Again, that's just my situation. I know it's different for everyone. 

I'm sorry if it reads like I'm ranting, but I work in a field that has also seen sales/income decline due to rising physical production costs and digital piracy, and self-employed creators trying to come up with new ways to make money when the old ways aren't cutting it (and then being criticized for trying to make money) is something that hits very close to home for me. 

I can't make the Columbus show tonight (my hometown show), so I asked a friend to pick up the singles for me. At 6pm when he checked they were sold out.

Wow--at least six previously unreleased songs in the first month or so (there have been 7 musical posts, really, since he posted a murky version of one and then a clearer copy of the exact same track the next day) that you can figure out how to download without too much difficulty...I wouldn't call that clutter. At this rate, and if you consider that songs go for $1.29 or so on most commercial digital outlets, I can see this being a pretty good deal for the money as time goes on. And I kinda want to see musicians I like continuing to make music, which they might not be able to do if they have to get day jobs. 

Oh, yeah-i forgot to include All I Need—you’re right, it definitely has A Shot In the Arm lyrics.

Some observations and a question after listening to the outtakes/alternate takes and demos:

1) No Hurry sounds like it became I Am Trying To Break Your Heart after some new lyrics and other tweaks

2) We're just Friends/Yee Haw sounds like the music became Just a Kid

My question: anyone else wondering if the name Viking Dan is a not-so-subtle reference to Vicodin, which-as the liner notes and Jeff's book tell us--was flowing freely at the time, or is it just me? That song is one of my favorites on this box set, btw. Really sounds raw and desperate and backs up a lot of the liner notes about that being a dark time for them.

That was definitely GBV's Teenage FBI they were singing.

I bought the double CD and-at least for me-the multiple  download notices were 1) a download of the album tracks and (happily) 2) a download of the bonus track that was vinyl-only for a little while. The second one arrived a week or two after the album was released, I seem to remember.

With absolutely no disrespect intended, I think that the idea that what got Trump elected was the disaffected American blue collar worker who was worried about his job and financial future and his voice being heard...is dishonest at best and delusional at worst. News outlets and pundits have been trying hard to convince themselves and everyone else that was what happened. But after the events of this week and some of the thousands of ugly and truly shitty things said and done by opposing citizens and politicians during Obama's time in office and especially during the 2016 election, you will never convince me that bigotry wasn't/isn't the main thing driving Trump's supporters. I lived in the South for 30+ years and I heard and witnessed more racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia in the last eight years than ever before, getting progressively worse and progressively more public in the last year. I'm not saying every Trump supporter or Republican politician is a card-carrying KKK member or swastika-wearing neo-Nazi. What I am saying is that I've felt marginalized and betrayed by my government, and I've been out of work and felt down and paralyzed and afraid...I've been scared about my future and my safety and terrified by world events...but I never once thought that what would make my life better would ever involve being okay with the Klan and the Nazis. If my champion had parties where white power advocates and Holocaust deniers were not turned away at the door, I don't care how down and out I was, I'd find a new champion. 

Shawnsolo73: as far as meeting the band goes, we've usually had good luck just hanging out near the buses after the show. Everyone in the band has been very gracious and friendly, but we've never seen Jeff Tweedy signing or chatting after a show. Good luck!

Thanks, too from me,  for the links. Never got the email either, so I was worried. Went off without a hitch, though!

Yeah, this is starting to worry me--no email yet with the presale info. I even created a new account with a new email and...nothing. Also tried emailing Songkick/CrowdSurge but haven't received a reply. It's past close-of-business the day before the presale, so this really doesn't look good.

I think they're in the process of switching us over: when I tried to sign in to Crowd Surge with the email account I used for Front Gate it said my email address wasn't recognized, so I assume they haven't gotten to my account yet. That's why I'm a bit concerned that some people including myself might be shut out of the presale happening in less than 48 hours. Oh, well. I'll try emailing Songkick and see what happens. I can also create my own Crowd Surge account and hope that works for the presale.

Has everyone had their Front Gate account switched to Crowd Surge yet? I haven't gotten the email with the transfer instructions, so I'm getting a little concerned about being able to do the presale in two days...I'm wondering if opening up a new Crowd Surge account will allow me to do the presale or if it HAS to be done via the Wilcoworld email...

For Skian--

You're right: there are no new songs, but there are at least two tracks that are previously unavailable versions of songs (Unlikely Japan is almost two minutes longer than the only other available version and At My Window Sad and Lonely Jeff Tweedy Solo Version is a completely different recording than what it is listed as being and something that hasn't been available until this set). Also, earlier in the thread a couple of us were wondering if the Cars Can't Escape on AMF is not what was listed in the liner notes or released as a Wilcoworld download--it sounds like a completely different, more finished and more in line with the rest of YHF version than what anyone's heard before (the weird electronic noises especially). Not necessarily worth buying the box just for these tracks, but definitely a nice little surprise if you were going to buy it anyway!

A heads-up for people who are on the fence or disappointed about buying AMF because they have all of the material already: at least two tracks are not what they're listed as. In the liner notes for AMF, there's info about where each track originally appeared, as in what single or soundtrack or compilation it's from. In at least two cases (possibly three), though, the AMF track is a different version of the track than what's listed.

I found this out when I imported the CDs into iTunes and noticed the times on some of the AMF tracks were pretty different than the originals that I already had in iTunes...

1) At My Window Sad and Lonely (Jeff Tweedy Solo Version) - this is supposed to be the version of the song from the Mermaid Avenue Bonus EP, but it's a completely different version instead. On the EP this song is relatively close to the album track but not quite the same and is clearly not Jeff Tweedy solo either--there's a full band playing. The AMF version definitely sounds like a solo Jeff version, mostly just vocals and guitar. My guess is the EP track was just an alternate band take on the song or a full band demo and was mislabeled, but the AMF version really is the true solo version. It's definitely not the same recording as the one on the EP.

2) Unlikely Japan - on AMF this track is two minutes longer than the version on the 45 single.

3-maybe) Cars Can't Escape - I'm not sure about this one because I wasn't lucky enough to grab the Wilcoworld version when it was originally released and the one I have was found somewhere online long after. I would bet the one currently circulating online and listed as the original Wilcoworld download is just a mislabeled track from the YHF engineer demos. Anyone have the original and the AMF version and can compare? The AMF version has weird YHF noises all over it, but my old file is pretty spare and just voice and instruments--no weird noises.

There may be more different versions, but I haven't listened to the entire set yet and these are all I've found so far.

Anyway, if you're a completist, then it's good news: two new songs, maybe three (or at least new versions of old songs)! Can't help you if you already own everything and think the price of the box set is too high for just two songs. I'm pretty happy with AMF myself because I'm glad to have good clean versions of some vinyl-only stuff like Childlike and Evergreen/Someone Else's Song (the original color 45 sounds horrible) and the Kicking Televison LP box tracks, in addition to the three tracks I listed above and a couple of other things I missed (the live Spiders and Hell Is Chrome). The liner notes are pretty cool, too.

Such a good show! I can't decide if this one was the best I've seen or if the last Detroit show was better...I think if they'd played A Shot in the Arm and One Sunday Morning, it would easily have killed Detroit. And my head would have exploded.

The tracks are "Diamond Light" parts 1 & 2, for what it's worth.

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There is a 10" single for sale here at the Detroit show, though!

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Thanks, guys! I did get an email confirmation and I'll be sure to be there as early as possible with it and my ID and credit card, so I think it'll be okay.

I think I posted this in the wrong thread earlier...hope this one is okay:

I was able to get a ticket during the presale for the Detroit show, but I wasn't given any choice of delivery for the ticket other than Will Call. Is this normal for presales now? I seem to recall having the real tickets or e-tickets I could print sent to me/made available to me the last two times I bought presale Wilco tickets. I had enough trouble getting that one ticket in my cart that I didn't want to jeopardize it by hitting the back button and looking around for other delivery options, so I went ahead and accepted the Will Call option. I'm a little nervous because I'm driving 4+ hours to the show, and if there's some screw up, that's a heck of a lot of wasted time and effort. Oh, well. I know I'm being a little paranoid, but I'd love to hear from other people about how the presale worked for them...